Hazel Eyes
by MerlinEmrys22
Summary: Katie, a sixth-year Ravenclaw, has always liked the hazel-eyed boy in Gryffindor. {Marauders}
1. The Scarlet Train (Prologue)

**Hey! My first Harry Potter fanfiction: I originally posted it on Quotev, so if the chapters are short, that's why. Chapters there are generally a bit shorter. My username there is InvisibleTeardrops if you're interested :3 Hope you like it c:**

* * *

September 1st. The train was packed, students milling around everywhere as I clutched my trunk. Looking around as I edged down the hallway, I couldn't find a single free compartment. I sighed, stopping outside one with four young boys in. They looked around my age.

One of them opened the door, surprising me. He had jet black hair, stuck up in every direction, and he grinned at me.

"Looking for a spare seat?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Come in here," he said, smiling. "We've got space. Probably."

I smiled, following him in. Inside, two of the boys waved, as one didn't notice I'd come in. One had long black hair, and a mischievous grin. Another was small, almost mouse-looking and with straw-coloured hair, and the last in the corner looked shyer. He had hazel eyes that seemed to glitter in the afternoon sun, as he looked out of the window.

"Hello." I said quietly. The small one smiled, and the one who'd opened the door introduced them all.

"This is Sirius," he pointed at the long haired boy, who grinned. "This is Peter," the small one waved slightly, "And this is Remus."

Remus turned around, looking surprised. "Hmm?" He spotted me, then smiled slightly. "Hello there."

I smiled back at him, before looking away. James grinned at me.

"What's your name, then? You never said."

"Katie. Katie O'Regan."

"Your accent's not from around here, is it?" Sirius asked. I shook my head.

"No, I'm from Northern Ireland."

He nodded. "Awesome."

I smiled, as James sat down. I put my trunk on the floor, sitting opposite on the edge of the seat next to Peter. We talked for a while, mostly the four of us except Remus, who was still looking out of the window.

We reached Hogwarts without much event, other than a redheaded girl and a black-haired boy named Severus being not-so-nicely kicked out by James and Sirius soon after they came in. Severus had said something about Slytherin, and James had mocked him, making them leave.

"What's wrong with Slytherin?" I asked. My mother and father were magical, but I'd forgotten to ask about the final house. I knew the stereotypes about the three other houses, but not Slytherin.

"That's where the evil ones go." Sirius said, laughing. "My whole family's been in Slytherin."

I grinned. "I don't think you will be."

He laughed. "Thanks, I guess."

"I think I might like to be in Ravenclaw." Remus said, speaking for the first time in a while. "It seems nice."

James scoffed. "No, that's for nerds. Gryffindor's the best, my dad was in it."

I smiled, wondering which house I'd be in. The light outside grew gradually darker, and I departed to change into my Hogwarts uniform, before coming back into the compartment. We were about to arrive.


	2. Quidditch and Charms

I skid along the corridor, running down the stairs in my blue Quidditch uniform. It's early, and only the second week of term in our sixth year, but I managed to wake up late and have to get down to the Great Hall before the rest of the team leave.

I stop just by the team, earning myself a steely glare from the Captain, Bertram Aubrey. He looks at me, blue eyes bright.

"Where have you been?"

"Overslept. Sorry." I say, getting some toast to eat before practice. He nods at me. We get on pretty well, seeing as we've been on the team together since my second and his third year.

We head down to the pitch, all seven of us. The little Chaser, a second-year named Sarah Hopkins, walks next to me. She's only had one practice so far, and she looks nervous.

"What if I miss a shot in a match?" she says, sounding worried. "What if-"

"Don't worry about it." I smile at her. "I missed the Snitch and nearly fell off my broom in my first match. Bertram just laughed and said it was better than doing something really stupid like one of the Slytherin Beaters. He hit someone on his own team in the face and broke their nose."

She giggles nervously. "I don't think I'll do that."

We chat amicably all the way down to the Quidditch stadium, before we get our brooms and go out onto the pitch. Bertram talks for a while, before releasing the various balls from the box and letting us fly off.

* * *

As we finish practice, the Gryffindor team appear, exactly on time. We arranged with them to meet up on Saturdays, have a game, and then they'd practice after we left.

Three of my best friends are on the team: James, Sirius and Remus. James and Sirius are Chasers, fast and nimble, but Remus is a Seeker. Like me.

We set off again, flying round. Remus and I stick together at first, but James shouts something. I can't quite hear it, but Remus turns red and flies off without a word.

I head off in the other direction, thinking. I've liked him since we first met, really, the shy and quiet boy with hazel eyes. But after five years, now a sixth, of nothing but polite friendliness and the occasional deep conversation, I'm starting to give up hope.

As a result of being so distracted, I forget to look for the Snitch and Remus flies past, a streak of red and gold lightning. I watch, surprised, before zooming after him.  
We're level soon enough, and he grins at me as we fly towards the Snitch. We both reach out at the same time, our hands brushing.

He gets it first, because I'm momentarily dazed. He turns back to me, a little red-faced.

I smile at him. "Good catch."

He grins, and we fly back down to the pitch. The others, seeing it's been caught, float down too.

"Who caught it?" James asks.

"Remus." I say, hopping off my broom and smiling.

"Aaw, Moony, gentlemen let the ladies catch it first."

Remus turns an even deeper shade of red, matching his scarlet uniform. "I meant to, but-" he stops himself, as James and Sirius laugh.

"Didn't mean it."

I grin at them. "Gender equality works out pretty well here, anyway."

Sirius raises an eyebrow, laughing. "Of course."

* * *

First class on Monday. Charms. And of course, out of everyone in the whole class, I sit with Remus.

I try to ignore him for a little while, writing out my notes, but I give in after a while. No use ignoring one of my best friends, just over a silly little crush...that's lasted five years.

He smiles as I look to my left, meeting his eyes. Professor Flitwick's still talking, so we have to resort to passing notes so we don't get told off for talking.

_Hello_, he writes on a scrap of parchment, with a little smiley face drawn on it. I smile, dipping my quill in ink and replying.

_Hello, how are you? _I write back.

_I'm good thanks, _he writes. _How are you?_

_I'm fine thanks. Nice catch on Saturday, by the way._

I hear him chuckle slightly as he reads it.

_Thanks, I thought you were going to get it. You're a better player than me._

I blush, smiling. We carry on passing notes for a while, before we have to start writing an essay. I smile to myself, on a high. It makes my day even just to talk to him, even after all this time.


	3. The Lake

After school at the end of the day, the four boys and I head down to the lake. It's still hot, even in early September, and they all leave their cloaks by the tree we always sit by.

I've always felt like an outsider around them- the only girl, the quiet one, likely to blush at anything Remus said, though only Sirius had picked up on that. He likes to tease me about it, knowing he's the only one who knows I like him. He's the only one who'll probably ever know, too. Surprisingly, he's quite sweet about it, underneath all the teasing.

We sit on our cloaks, glad to be rid of the heavy black clothing. The sun is shining down from the cloudless sky, perfect weather for once.

Sirius and James jump up, going to the lakeside to splash each other and no doubt fall in the lake at some point. Peter wanders off "to find something", goodness knows what, leaving Remus and I alone.

I can't help but notice how skinny he is, without his cloak. He's gazing across the lake, lost in a daydream world. I look around, feeling awkward.

"This time next year, it'll be our last year." he says, suddenly. I nod.

"I'll miss Hogwarts." I say quietly. "It's so..." I can't find the right words, but he nods, understanding.

We haven't been watching James and Sirius. They've climbed the tree, and are above us, dropping leaves on our heads.

I look up at them, and then Remus, laughing. He grins at me, brushing leaves off his head and jumping up to climb up to them. Every day around those three is crazy.


	4. Ravenclaw Common Room

The warm weather only lasts until the end of September, when it turns cold. Leaving cloaks around is swapped for wrapping them around us, and afternoons by the lake are swapped for curling up in the common room by the fire.

I'm doing so one early October evening, after everyone else has gone to bed, reading Hogwarts: A History. The common room is silent, except for the sound of the fire and the pages in the book turning as I read, until there's a noise behind me. I look up, as someone's trying to get into the common room.

Grabbing my wand, I stand up, treading carefully towards the doorway. "Who's there?"

"It's me," a voice whispered. "Sirius."

I step forward, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I have news you might like. And Louisa said you stay up late a lot."

I roll my eyes. Louisa shares a dorm with me, and she's lovely, but sometimes she can't keep her mouth shut.

Sighing, I open the passageway from inside. Sirius is there, still in his uniform like I am. He grins up at me.

"Hello."

"Hello to you too." I say as he comes in. "You really shouldn't be here."

"I know, I know." he says, holding his hands up."But I thought you might like to know something."

I eye him suspiciously. "What is it?"

"Moony said something." he grins. "Well, I'm not supposed to have told you, but-" he stopped.

I looked at him. "You're killing me with the suspense." I laugh.

"Well..." he laughs, knowing he's got me hanging. "He was talking about you."

I raise my eyebrows. "What- what was he saying?"

"He said he liked you." Sirius grinned.

"Padfoot, if this is some kind of joke-"

"It isn't!" he laughed. "Cross my little dog heart and hope to die."

I looked at him. "Does he really?"

He nodded. "Wouldn't shut up about you."

I blushed, smiling. Sirius grinned, heading to the door again. "See you tomorrow."

"See you." I say, smiling before I go up to my dorm. I hope it's true.


	5. The Match

There's a Quidditch match the next day. Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor, and I'm even more nervous than usual.

If Sirius is right, and Remus does like me, then that's brilliant. But if he's got it wrong, or he's joking, and I do something stupid...I may as well give up before it's begun.

I wake up early, tired from last night's events and all the thoughts that were buzzing around my head until late at night. I yawn while we're getting our brooms from the broom cupboard, and Bertram notices.

"Tired?" he says, a joking note in his voice. "You're going to need your energy, Lupin's fast."

I nod, getting out my broom. "I know."

We line up by the archway to the pitch, Bertram unfolding the flap. It's horrendous weather, rain and high winds, and I'm surprised the match hasn't been called off.

Madam Hooch blows the whistle, barely audible through the sound of the wind whipping past me. My hair, though tied back, is still flying behind me.

We mount our brooms, sapphire and ruby uniforms alike. I can see Remus opposite me, his sandy hair whipped back and drenched with rain. We look a state already, without even flying.

Madamn Hooch yells something I can't hear. I hope it isn't anything important. The balls are released from the crate, and they zoom off around the grey pitch. She blows her whistle again, and we fly off.

Most of the game is spent hovering in midair, getting soaked and looking for that tiny glint of gold. Remus flies past a couple of times, a streak of gold and ruby, so fast I barely recognise it's him. I don't know why. Half an hour later, neither of us has seen the Snitch, and I'm beginning to give up.

Then I see it. Fluttering in the wind, spattered by rain, it's flying along with the same speed and grace as ever. I lie flat on my broom and chase after it, zooming across the air through the rain.

I'm flying faster than ever, so fast I barely register the rain hitting me and the wind trying to push me back. Remus catches up after a moment, realising I must have seen it. Racing around the pitch, our only goal is to catch the little golden ball, any thoughts forgotten, left behind in the rain.

We both reach for the Snitch, but this time I get it. The same euphoria as ever- we've wone the match, I got the Snitch- buzzes round my head. Then there's a flash of light. Something hits me, and I'm falling, falling towards the ground, faster than I was flying, and then everything goes black.


	6. The Hospital Wing

It's dark when I open my eyes again. There's a little ruby light streaming in from the rain-spattered windows, the remains of a sunset behind heavy, grey clouds - where am I?

I try to sit up, vaguely aware of dull pains in my head and my arm. I look around, squinting slightly as my eyes adjust to the darkness, to see the hospital wing surrounding me.

Then I remember. The match, winning, then being hit, and falling, falling, falling-

I bring my knees to my chest, suddenly cold. Still mostly under the covers, I look around again to see Madame Pomfrey bustling around at the other end of the wing. She spots me, and marches over in her authoritive way.

"Miss O'Regan, you're awake, I see." she says, fiddling with the lid on some medicine. I nod slowly, and she looks up to meet my eyes for a moment.

"You've been out for around twenty-nine hours, it's " she says. "The Headmaster is responsible for softening your fall. Twenty-five feet, or so I've been told."

Bloody hell. How did I even fall?

"What hit me?"

"A rogue Bludger."

That's reassuring, yet disappointing, in a way. Of all the reasons to be stuck here, a wayward ball is the reason.

There's a silence for a moment, whilst Madame Pomfrey sorts out the medicine, before she speaks again.

"Your friends Mr Lupin and Mr Black were in here." she says nonchalantly. "Until about an hour ago."

"What time is it now?"

"Nine in the evening."

That explains the darkness, then. All I really want now is to go back up to my dorm and get back to normal. "When can I go?"

She tuts quietly. "Not for another day or two."

I sigh, quiet enough so she won't hear and get offended. I hate the hospital wing even when I'm not the patient, all bright and sterile and emotionless.

"Your friends are returning tomorrow morning, or so I heard." Thank goodness for that, Sirius and Remus will keep me sane. _Remus. _He was in here.

Madame Pomfrey is unaware of the minor war going on in my head, simply handing me a spoon of medicine. "Drink it. It'll help." That brings back a million memories.

_"Katie, you alright?"_

_I'm met with two pairs of concerned eyes - the same two best friends, Sirius and Remus. One stormy grey pair, and one hazel pair._

_"Fine." I'm not really. Whose stupid idea was it to bring a _Dementor _to Defence Against The Dark Arts? That teacher won't last long. Last week he'd apparently tried to let us use Unforgivable Curses, but Professor Dippet unsurprisingly said no. There were at least fifty variants on the rumour that our teacher was a Death Eater going round the school like wildfire._

_Sirius just grins his lopsided grin, wandering off again. Remus, however, frowns slightly, and fishes in his pocket for something. He holds out his hand, offering me some chocolate._

_"Eat it," he says, all concerned, pleading eyes. "It'll help."_


End file.
